[Vwdiesel] Finally need a new alternator? Burning through brushes.

[Will Taygan]

1991 Jetta ecodiesel. AL0182X Alternator, new (day old) Bosch voltage
regulator and brushes.

Well, I've successfully burned through 3 sets of brushes in the past
year and a half.  Now the red electrical light is acting erratically.
It will flicker, and then come on solid, and then go out, mostly with
braking, and other strange Jetta movements and the like.

I'm wondering if I've got a bad wire/connection somewhere?  I don't know
a whole lot about alternators, just pop a new regulator/brush set in
when the old one wears out.  I've tried 2 different regulator/brush sets
in the past week, it's getting pricey.

So, other than the standard ground connection, is there anything in
particular that I should check?

I'm wondering if the slip rings are finally done (one brush was wearing
significantly faster) and I need to replace them?  

I'd probably get a Bosch rebuild to put on for now, and take my time
rebuilding the core for a spare - yeah like I really need another
project, but shipping is so pricey from here I'm not saving much by
returning the core.  I just don't want to shell out the cash if the
problem is somewhere else.

Oh yeah, I've got a new optima yellow-top and pull quite a bit of
Amperage running the heater/radio/lights/vegtherm/etc. especially in the
winter.

Help.

Will in Alaska.